Real
by Flypaperfornightmares7
Summary: "We work at Buzzfeed and are doing the 'BFF's Get Married For a Week' Video but I think I am actually in love with you." Captain Swan Fake Marriage and Best Friend AU. Basically just fluff upon fluff.


**Here is that promised one shot! Sorry it took so long. I was watching the buzzfeed video BFFs get Married for A Week and immediately thought of Captain Swan and this fic was born. Hope you all enjoy it. An update for Retrograde should be up within the next few days.**

* * *

 _Day 1_

"I do."

"I do."

What did they just do?

It's a simple video, they said. It's like the fourth time we've done this concept, people love it, they said. The view counts will be off the charts, they said.

The real question was why in the world did she listen?

Emma loved her job at Buzzfeed. She worked more behind the scenes, writing articles for the website. She did one video about a year ago entitled "Can Your BFF Make Your Online Dating Profile?" and that was only at Ruby's insistence (demand).

But here she stood, camera and crew behind her, documenting it all, "marrying" Killian.

Emma met Killian Jones when she received her job. He, unlike her, worked more with the videos. Rumor around the office was that his pretty face got him the job, but he was actually quite qualified. The duo met through one of Ruby's many parties, both complaining that the whole party scene was not really their thing. They were inseparable from then on.

And that's how they found themselves making the video "BFF's Get Married for a Week."

The rules were simple, really. Live together, plan one date each, and "cherish" each other (whatever that meant). And the best part-they had to tape themselves throughout the week so the public could later watch their progress.

Emma had been hesitant to sign up, but Killian eventually convinced her. It would be an easy week, not that different than what they normally did, he convinced her. Plus, the monetary bonus from doing this video was not overlooked. So, Emma reluctantly agreed to marry her best friend for the week and video document the entire thing.

What could go wrong?

...

Emma figured out pretty quickly that a lot could go wrong.

Quickly, might she add.

The remainder of the day went on as normal, Emma attending to her work and Killian to his. And when it was time for everyone to head out for the day, Emma and Killian made their separate ways to drive to his apartment.

That's when things went downhill.

Killian whipped out the camera as she put her bag down in his room.

"Well, it's the first day. We are settling in-"

"Could you be any more awkward?" Emma asked as she brushed past him to walk into the kitchen. She opened the fridge and grabbed a soda.

"Maybe I wouldn't be if you would help me, love." He yelled out to her.

"Your the video man." She yelled back.

Killian made his way to the kitchen, camera in his good hand, taping her. "What should we do for dinner?"

"You're seriously filming this?" She questioned.

Killian shrugged. "They said to get as much footage as we could. They'll do the editing later."

"Okay, well you have legit no food in your fridge." Emma pointed out, opening the fridge door to prove her point.

"Aye." He sounded embarrassed. "I meant to go shopping before you got here, but I had to stay late at work last night. Will needed some help."

"Will always needs help." Emma closed the fridge door. "Does this mean I have to go grocery shopping with you too?" She whined a bit.

A smirk played at his lips. "Well, that is something couples do."

"Ugh." She groaned. "Fine. But tomorrow. Today we get takeout."

Chinese was a simple compromise-the first compromise of their marriage, Killian had joked. They happily ate their dinner and watched Masterchef. At one point, after they discarded of their takeout Emma popped out her laptop to get some work done until she was too tired to stay awake.

"I think it's time we get the princess to bed." Killian said softly as he clicked off the TV and got up from his spot on the couch.

"I'm not a princess." She would put up a harder fight if she had the energy in her.

"Come on, Swan." He held out his hand to help her up. They walked to his bedroom in silence and both went through the motions of their nighttime routines.

Emma sat on the left side of the bed tentatively, hair piled up on her head in a bun and body dressed in shorts and a tshirt. Killian walked in shortly after, dressed in flannel sleep pants and a grey v-neck tshirt.

"Here goes nothing, love." He muttered as he sat next to her and reached for the camera on his nightstand. "Well, here we are." He directed towards the camera. "Settling into bed."

"With no awkwardness whatsoever." Emma piped in.

"I can honestly say in our five years of being friends we have never shared a bed."

"Um, that one time at Christmas-"

Killian glared at her playfully. "That was a couch, it was for two hours, and we had way too much eggnog."

"And if I remember correctly, David was also on said couch." Emma giggled.

Killian shuddered. "There are something a man can just not forget." He laid down, keeping the camera focused on his face. "Come on, Swan."

"You're bossy when you're tired." She copied him. His queen sized bed was big enough that they both had some room without being on top on each other, but they still were sleeping just mere inches away from each other.

"Care to cuddle, love?" He teased.

Emma directed her next comment to the camera. "There is like a 90% chance that this guy is going to be sporting a black eye by the end of this week."

"A black eye and a divorce? I get a two for one deal." He looked over at her.

"How romantic, Romeo." She pulled the blankets over her.

He looked back at the camera. "She loves me. I bet that by the end of the week she won't want this marriage to be over." He pressed the off button and put the camera down on his nightstand.

"What, not going to tape us trying to get comfortable?"

"I doubt it would be interesting." He lay down on his right side, facing Emma.

Emma turned her head so she could see him. "We're idiots, right? I mean, who does this?"

"We've been best friends for years, love. We already act like we are married."

She sighed, and then rolled on her side. "Yeah, but the entire world is gonna see this."

He moved his hand to rest on her shoulder. "It's just a video, Swan. Plus, we make quite the team."

A small smile crept up on her face. "Swan and Jones-"

"Kicking butts, all day every day." He laughed, and leaned over her, kissing her forehead, before he turned to the nightstand and turned off the lamp. "Get some sleep, Swan."

* * *

 _Day 2_

The next morning things just got more awkward.

Emma opened her eyes, slightly stirring in the bed until she hit something. Well, not something. Someone.

She looked up to see that she was completely entangled in Killian. Her head rested on his chest and his arms wrapped around her. His head was awkwardly facing away from her, his hair tousled with sleep. He looked younger like this-relaxed and at peace. Emma liked it.

Until she remembered that that was her best friend she was staring at.

Killian moved his head, waiting a few seconds before he sleepily opened his eyes. "Mornin' love." His voice was gruff with sleep.

"Hey"

He noticed her apprehension and looked at their current position. "Love, I'm sorry-"

Emma shook her head and pulled out of his embrace, leaning against her elbow so she could still see him. "Don't be. I move around a lot when I sleep. It was probably me. We'll just have to figure that out for tonight."

"Aye." He sighed. "We will. Would you like to use the shower first? I'll put a pot of coffee on."

Emma smiled and leaned over to kiss his cheek. "You're the best."

"I know."

...

Thursdays at work were often uneventful. Emma spent her day either writing some new article or cleaning up a new one and Killian worked with the video productions. They were able to spend their lunch break together though, as they always did. But after that it was back to work for the next five hours.

Killian met Emma at her desk when he was done with work. They had driven together and would leave together at hit up the grocery store before they went home.

"Ready, love?" He asked her. He was dressed in black jeans with a long-sleeved grey shirt. Emma couldn't help but think that he looked nice. Cute, even.

What was she saying? This was Killian. Her best friend.

But he was also her "husband" so she would let the thought slide.

"Yeah." She grabbed her bag and followed him out.

Emma was not one for grocery shopping. Her diet did not look like the average twenty-nine year old living in California's diet. No, instead it looked more like a college student's menu. Pop tarts, mac and cheese, way too many TV dinners, and enough coffee to keep her awake for the next year.

Killian, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Two years older than Emma, he normally had his fridge stocked with more vegetables than Emma had bought since she moved to California. He was the main reason she ate healthy every now and then.

They videotaped the first half of their shopping trip (until they were so kindly asked by a store employee to stop) and then proceeded to get the remainder of the items of the list.

"Killian, how much milk do we need you a week." Emma laughed as he reached for the half gallon and placed it into their cart.

He shrugged casually. "I just figured we would need it for hot chocolate." An older woman struggling to reach something on the top shelf near them caught Killian's eye and he moved from their cart to help her. "Here you go, ma'am."

"Aw, thank you son." She gushed, and then leaned over to Emma."You've got yourself a good one."

Emma blushed, unsure of how to respond. "Yeah. I do."

Killian started pushing the cart again and Emma walked beside him. A few seconds later, after the older woman was gone, he whispered to her. "Sorry about that, love."

"You've been apologizing a lot today." Emma laughed quietly.

He gave her a serious look. "You know what I mean." Killian steered them to a self check out and started scanning their items.

"It's fine, Killian. I mean, we are pretending to be married." She reminded him as she reached for the food and handed it to him.

"We are acting like we are married." He corrected her. 'There's a difference, love."

She raised an eyebrow, stalling her movement. "Okay, Mr. Wise Guy."

Emma was silent on the drive back. The woman's comment kept playing in her head. It was not that she was bothered by it really-why should she be. Killian was right. They were just acting like they were married for a video for work. They had five more days of playing the part and then they went back to being best friends.

Knowing (or maybe not knowing) her own feelings at the beginning of this project had made Emma unsure if she should agree to do it. Ever since she met Killian, she knew there was something different about him. They clicked instantly-something she did not do with anyone- and he understood her. He got what it was like to be an orphan, to have his heart broken, to feel alone.

She told him about Neal and how he cheated and took everything from , in turn, told her about Milah, the girl he had been with for years until he learned that she was married with a son. She told him about her life in the system and he told her about his father leaving him. Not all of their conversations were so serious, though. After long days of work, they sprawled out on his couch with some cheesy movie playing in the background, her telling him whatever inappropriate thing Ruby had said and him telling her how disgustingly cute Mary Margaret and David had been that day.

Killian had been there for everything during the past five years. Sure, there were times when Emma preferred to go to her girl friends like Ruby or Mary Margaret, but often, she turned to Killian. She could not picture her life without him.

For weeks now, she had been trying to convince herself that she did not like him as more than a friend. That their relationship was completely platonic. But she knew she was lying to herself.

That was why this project was so hard for her. She only signed up for it because she knew it would make Killian happy, but it was hard for her. It showed her the life she could never have. The domesticity-it was not in the cards for someone like her.

Five more days. She only had five more days of keeping her emotions under control and convincing Killian that she did not see him as more than a friend. And then their relationship went back to normal. And normal was good.

* * *

Day 3

Killian used Friday night to plan his date. He took Emma to this little Italian place on the other side of town. He dressed in black jeans, with a black dress shirt, vest, and his signature leather jacket. Emma donned a dress, a pink one with a lower neckline than she normally wore and a bit of extra fabric on the bottom.

The way Killian's mouth dropped when she walked out of his room was worth wearing the dress.

" _Swan, you look stunning."_

They taped the beginning of their date-the drive there, them walking into the restaurant, ordering, and a bit of their banter, but after they had been sitting for a few minutes, Killian turned off the camera and placed it on the table.

"Aren't we supposed to be filming?" She asked him.

"We've got a lot from tonight. And we can get some more later if need be. But I didn't bring you here to focus on work, love. I brought you here to show you a good time." He reached across the table with his good hand and squeezed hers.

"But we are here because of work." Emma pointed out.

"Aye, but you are still my best friend and we are on a date and I for one would like to enjoy myself."

"Okay." Emma whispered.

The food was amazing, better than either of them had had in a long time. They spend the night laughing about anything and everything. When they finished their meal, Killian suggested they go on a walk on the beach. She knew it was so cliche, but it was also sweet. He loved the water with everything he had in him and if she was honest with herself, she did not want their night to end.

"I had a really great time tonight." Emma said while they were walking. The beach was mostly empty due to it being later at night. It was windy and she was wearing Killian's leather jacket, at his insistence. Not that she minded, though.

"Aye, love. So did I."

"Probably the best date I've had in awhile."

"Better than the monkey?" He raised an eyebrow, a smirk playing at his lips.

She groaned. "Walsh didn't act that much like a monkey."

"His actions were completely barbaric!" Killian laughed, while trying to sound serious to convince her of his point. "I would hope I could outdo him."

"Well you did." She assured him. "To bad all my dates can't be like this."

"Why can't they?" His tone was light.

"Because a lot of guys are not like you." Emma explained.

Killian hummed. "Well if you dated me, you wouldn't have a problem than."

Emma stopped walking, raising her hand to signal him to stop as well. "What?" Emma knew him. She knew by the tone of his voice he was serious. If he was joking he would have that stupid smirk or his voice would be more flirtatious. But no. This was serious Killian. That was what scared here. "What are you talking about?"

"Emma, love, I have not been the most discreet with my feelings towards you. Luckily on my part, you have not been the most observant though."

"Are you calling me oblivious?"

Killian sighed. "No, love. I misspoke. Just forget I said anything." He started walking, hoping to change the awkward conversation, but Emma wasn't having any of it.

"Killian." She yelled after him.

"Swan, it was a joke. Let it go, alright?" He turned back to her.

"No!" Emma walked up to him. "I know you. I know when you're joking." She softened her voice. "Killian, tell me what's going on."

Killian sighed. "When I found out I was being considered for this video, I didn't want it. Dave convinced me and I eventually agreed. But I knew it would only be a matter of time before I had to admit to myself and you my feelings. I couldn't just pretend to be in a relationship with you and not feel something."

"Which is?" Emma asked hesitantly.

"I like you." He breathed out. "But I didn't want to pile this all on you and make our friendship awkward. And now you probably hate me for asking you to do this stupid video-"

"Killian." She tried to get his attention.

"And you probably think I was playing you, but I swear, love-"

"Killian!" She said louder this time.

"What?"

"I like you too, you idiot."

His face lit up like Christmas. "You do?"

She took a step back and raised a hand. "I'm still not the best at relationships, though. You know that."

"No one is, love. All it takes is meeting the right person and everything changes." He smiled.

She struggled to keep the conversation serious. "Killian, I don't want to date for a few months and then just break up."

"What makes you so sure that we are going to break up?" He asked her.

"What makes you so sure we won't?" Emma countered.

"Love," He took a step closer. "We've been best friend for five years. I'm not leaving. Not now and not ever."

"I know you're not leaving."

"Than what's holding you back, love?"

"Happy endings aren't in the cards for me, Killian." She explained. "This. A relationship. A marriage-even a fake one. None of that is ever going to happen to me."

"And who decided that?"

"Fate. The universe." She rambled. "I don't know."

He rested his hand on her elbow, tentatively. "Well, who cares what fate thinks? You've never been one to follow the rules anyway. Why don't you show fate, or the universe, or whoever how bloody deserving you are of being happy?"

"And that means having a relationship with you?" She raised an eyebrow out of instinct.

"No." He shook his head. "That means doing what you want to do. If, perhaps, a relationship is something you want, than I am more than happy. But I want to you do what you want, Emma. You deserve to be happy."

Emma gave him a small smile. "You know, no one has ever said that to me."

"Than I will make a habit of saying it more often."

"Could we take this slow?" She hated how nervous she sounded. " I don't want to rush into things and mess them up."

He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her into a comforting hug. "I like the sound of that, love. I want to do this right."

She leaned back from his embrace. "Go out with me?"

"Love, I was already going out with you tomorrow." He reminded her. Saturday was her day to plan a date.

"Make it real?" She giggled.

"Aye, love." He whispered and placed a kiss to her temple. "It will be real."

* * *

 _Day 4_

"Aren't we supposed to be taking this slow?" Killian laughed as Emma kissed his cheek (again).

"Are you complaining?" She leaned back and place her hand on the rail of the ship. It was Emma's day to plan a date, and knowing Killian as well as she did, she knew the perfect activity. They rented a boat and had the entire day to spend out on the the water.

"Not at all, love." He hummed. "But I'd rather not steer us into something else and you are making staying focused quite the task."

She removed herself from him and walked to the side of the wheel. "That sounds a bit like complaining." She teased.

"Never, my darling."

"Hey, if you can get us settled somewhere that we won't crash into anything, I can get us some lunch."

Killian raised his eyebrow. "The Emma Swan made lunch?"

Emma placed her hands on her hips, trying to think of some witty response, but she gave up. "Granny's."

He chuckled. "That's my girl."

...

"So, it's Emma's day to plan a date. She rented us a boat and we are sailing for the day. She packed a picnic and everything." Emma heard Killian talking to the camera from her spot below deck.

"She really went all out and did something I would really like. I think that's a big part of marriage. Making the other person happy. You can't be selfish and Emma isn't. In marriage, you want to make the other person happy and that in turn makes you happy."

Emma smiled. They would both do individual interviews at the end of the week for the video, but it was sweet that he was listing what he was learning throughout the week. Sure, this project had not gone according to plan, but it was still important for them to follow through.

Silence filled the air and Emma took that moment to go up on deck with the food. "Ready for lunch?"

"Aye, love." He walked over to her, camera in his good hand.

They settled themselves down on the deck and Killian turned the camera to them. "Picnic on the deck with my wife."

Emma put a glass in front of Killian and then picked up her own, holding it out to the camera. "I finally feel like an adult. All my grown up friends do this with their spouse."

"Also the first time you've eaten like an adult." Killian muttered under his breath.

That earned him a shove.

"So, love," Killian looked at her, "How do you think the experiment is going?"

"Experiment?" She laughed. "You make it sound like we are doing this for science instead of Youtube."

He raised his eyebrow at her until she answered. "I think we are doing good. We are just over halfway through and kinda starting to get the hang of things. We have a routine and it's not super awkward anymore like it was in the beginning."

"Awkward?" Killian questioned.

Leaning over to press a kiss to his cheek, she whispered. "Because we were forced to do it, remember?."

"I thought you said we shouldn't have any displays of affection on camera?" He reminded her. The two of them had talked things over and decided to keep on the roles of being best friends who were pretending to be married. They would act as if nothing in their relationship had changed. They did not want their romantic relationship out on display for the world when they were not even sure what they were doing.

"We'll just edit it out." She suggested.

"So wise." He hummed. "How did I ever get so lucky?"

She gave him a small smile before she changed the subject. "How do you think we are doing?"

Redirecting his attention to the camera, he answered, "I would have to say we are doing quite well. We know how to act around each other, know each other's peeves and annoyances. I think we have the whole marriage thing down."

"Too bad we'll have to get divorced in three days." Emma teased.

"Aye," He conceded, joining in on her game. "What a shame. I thought we could be couple of the year. Maybe celebrate our fiftieth anniversary one day."

Emma knew he had been joking, but could not help feel a little apprehensive at the mention of a fiftieth wedding anniversary. That would mean a future between them.

And a future would mean Emma not getting scared and running away.

And Killian not leaving her, like everyone else did.

(Not that she thought he would ever leave, but it was something in her. Something inside of her that made people leave.)

He saw the look in her eyes and shut the camera off, placing it on the deck besides them and then turned to kiss Emma's forehead.

"Don't we need more footage?" She asked, confused by his sudden action.

"I think we have enough."

"Well, if you say so-" She whispered before leaning in to kiss him.

* * *

 _Day 5_

Waking up with Killian, her head on his chest and his arm around her, was slowly becoming Emma's favorite thing.

She knew they were taking things fast. Three days ago they were nothing more then friends and now she was lying in bed with him after spending the entire day prior on a date with him, snuggling into his side and kissing his cheek. Part of Emma was terrified-she did not do relationships, not well at least. People always left her, it was the story of her life. A story she was much to used to.

Killian stirred beside her, taking a few moments to wake up before looking down at her. "Morning, love."

"Mornin'" She whispered, propping her chin on his chest.

He stared at her for a few moments, and she knew that he understood what she was thinking. He always had a talent for knowing exactly what was going on in her mind. He called it her being an open book. She called it annoying (and sweet, but she would never admit that.)

"You look like you are going to run," He stated casually, but with concern.

"Everything in me is telling me to." Emma confessed. She pulled away from him and rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow to see him. He slowly sat up just a tiny bit.

"Why, love?" His voice was soft and caring.

Emma sighed. "Because that's what I do. Relationships never work out for me and I just always convince myself that I should run before I get hurt. And I'm doing it again. We barely even have a relationship and I'm already screwing it up." She rambled.

"You're not messing anything up, Emma."

"We've been together-or whatever we are- for two days and I am already scared. That's not normal."

"We don't have to like everyone else, love." He tried to convince her.

Emma ran a hand through her hair, working through the knots that formed while she was asleep. "That's not what I meant. It's just-I don't know how to have a normal relationship. I mess these things up."

He turned to her completely and rested his hand on her arm. "Love, it has never been your fault. Neal was scum and Walsh an idiot. They were the ones who messed things up, not you. They were both bloody fools for ever leaving you and not seeing all that you are."

"I'm the reason they left. " She persisted.

"Their stupidity was the reason they left. Not you. Love, I don't care how daft those fools were, but I'm not going to leave you. The only thing you could ever do to make me leave is tell me to go, and even than I will probably not listen."

She smiled a bit despite herself. "You're not supposed to make me laugh. I'm trying to be serious."

That dopey, lopsided grin that she loved so much made an appearance. "But Swan, I love making you laugh. It's one of my favorite things to do."

Emma rolled on her back and sighed, turning her head to face him. "You know this conversation is going to happen a lot. The trust issues don't just stop."

"Aye, I know, love." He assured her. " I have no problems assuring you that I am not going anywhere."

"Thank you."

...

"Killian!" She whined.

How was it possible that not even a minute after he turned off the camera she had flour on her?

It was Killian. That was how.

It was Sunday and they had nowhere to be that day, so they decided to do the coupley thing and make breakfast together. Except they failed to take into account that Emma could not cook and Killian loved messing with her.

So, she currently had flour in her hair and a pout on her lips.

A pout that he promptly kissed right off of her.

"If you keep getting the ingredients on me, we won't have enough for the pancakes." She insisted.

"Yes, we will, love." He moved to the bowl of batter and showed it to her. "More than enough for both of us."

"Just because we have enough doesn't mean you need to waste the extra ingredients." Her hands went to her hips.

Starting to pour some batter on the griddle, he looked up at her and smiled. "You're adorable when you are mad."

She couldn't hide the blush that was rising on her cheeks."Stop trying to change the subject!"

"I'm just being honest, love." He shrugged and flipped a pancake.

She rolled her eyes and muttered "whatever." Grabbing her coffee mug and making her way to the other side of his kitchen, she asked him. "You want more coffee."

He shook his head. "No, love. I, unlike you, don't need three cups of coffee to get through the day."

She scrunched her face at him. "Cute."

"I always knew you found me dashing, love."

"Ugh!" Emma groaned. "Do you ever stop?"

"You would despair if I did." He grabbed the plate of pancakes they (he) prepared and brought them to the table.

She followed him out to the table and set her mug down. He passed her a plate with pancakes already on them and then prepared his own plate.

After pouring a hearty serving of syrup on them, Emma took a bite. "The world would be quite impressed to know that Mr. Killian Jones, buzzfeed video star, also can cook."

He hummed "Really, love? Do the ladies like that?"

"They do. Between the looks and the cooking, it's amazing they aren't knocking down your door."

"So, you're admitting that you do find me attractive." He waggled his eyebrow.

"You're insufferable. Careful, or I'll give you up to one of those crazy ladies."

He shut up for the rest of breakfast.

* * *

 _Day 6_

As quickly as the weekend had come, it was over and Emma and Killian found themselves back in the routine of work. It was a long day for both of them, him sneaking glances at her as he walked through the office and her sending a few texts to him just to mess with him.

They had been able to have lunch together like the days before and even videotaped part of it to make it seem like it was purely for the video. They both enjoyed those few quiet moments they had together after not getting to really be with each other at all that day. After that, however, they still have close to five hours separate before they could go home.

"Hey Em," Her friend, Mary-Margaret, who worked in human relations, came by and said. Mary-Margaret was David's wife and Emma had met the couple shortly after receiving her job. The two had quickly become the family she never had and always wanted. Mary-Margaret definitely had the mother gene in her and was practicing for when she and David had their own bundle of joy. "How's the video going?"

Emma swiveled around in her chair. "Good. Just one more day."

The petite woman hummed. "You two getting along well?"

"We get along great." She gave Mary-Margaret a small laugh. "He is my best friend after all."

"I still can't believe you agreed to do that video." Mary-Margaret confessed, shifting on her feet. "It's very unlike you."

She shrugged. "Killian thought it would be a good idea for ratings and would only do it with me. Plus Ruby looked like she was going to kill me if I said no."

"That's our Ruby." The other woman stated with a grin. "I'm surprised she hasn't started bothering you about getting together with Killian."

Emma sighed. " Normally by now she would be doing that. She's working with Killian today, though, and is probably talking his ear off about the video."

Mary-Margaret laughed. "Well, he's having a fun day than. I should get back to work, but we need to have a girls' night soon."

"Definitely." Emma agreed and her friend walked off.

It was weird to think that, if all went well, she and Killian would eventually have to tell people what had really happened during the filming of the video. Mary-Margaret would be overjoyed since she always wanted Emma to get her "happy ending" just like she and David had gotten and Ruby would just say "I told you so" and then proceed to turn the conversation awkward.

Her friends were interesting to say the least.

...

"This is our last dinner together." Emma commented as she and Killian sat down to eat that night.

"Love, you make it sound like we will never see each other after the video is over." He laughed as he took a sip of his drink.

She gave a shrug and reached for her fork. "It will be different."

"How?"

"Well, we are getting divorced tomorrow." She started out with. " I don't know, things will just be different. Everything becomes real after tomorrow."

"You mean us?" He corrected her. "We become real after tomorrow?"

"We are real right now." She laughed in between bites of her food.

"You know what I mean, love. After tomorrow we are no longer doing the video. We won't be living together or spending every moment together."

"I was thinking today about the amount of 'I told you so's' we are going to get when we tell people we got together during the video."

Nodding, he pointed his fork out as he talked. "Ruby asked me today if we've hooked up yet."

Emma let out a hearty laugh. "I was wondering if she had her shot at you today while you guys were working."

"You'll be happy to know I told her no. She doesn't even know we are together."

"She's gonna have a field day when we tell them." Emma ran a hand through her hair.

He hummed. "And when will that be?" The question was not condescending or bitter, but a genuine question.

"I think we should wait until the video at least comes out."

"Aye," He agreed. "That might be a few weeks, though."

Emma sighed. "We'll see how things go over the new few weeks. We can take things as they come, okay?"

"It will be quiet without you here everyday." He changed the subject.

"You've lasted for thirty-one years without me living with you, old man. I think you will survive."

He leaned forward, a smirk on his lips and a teasing look in his eyes. "Perhaps I just enjoy your company, love. Even if you think me an old man."

"What are you, like three hundred?"

"Three hundred and five if we are being exact." He stood up and removed their plate from the table, bringing them to the kitchen.

She waited a few seconds before following him in. He was standing at the sink and she moved to him to wrap her arms around him, her head resting on his back. The domesticity of the moment was not lost on her. Standing on her tiptoes to move her head closer to his shoulder, she whispered. "I enjoy your company too."

He strained his head back to kiss the top of hers. "I'll think of you every day while you're not here, Swan."

She laughed at how he was acting, as if they were being separated by some long distance or time instead of their current condition of her moving out of his place. A living arrangement that only existed because they had been forced into it.

"Good." She rested her head on his back again.

* * *

 _Day 7_

The last day of the week felt oddly like the first. Once they arrived at the office, they were both rushed into hair and makeup so they could be "camera ready" as one of the makeup artists, Tink, stated. They would do their individual interviews first, and than do one together before getting their divorce.

Once they were all ready, Emma went first.

"Just act natural." David told her where he was standing behind the camera.

She took a few moments to get comfortable, before she started talking (more like rambling) about her experience. Killian was standing by David and gave her a reassuring smile.

"I'm really not one for relationships, so this was a huge jump for me, even if it was with my best friend. I've always been really independent and don't like to rely on someone else, but this week taught me that a good partnership isn't always something to be scared of. It's kinda nice to have someone there at the end of the day to talk to and help you."

"What did you think of the date Killian planned?" A women, Regina, who was producing the video, asked.

"The date was by far one of the nicest things anyone had done for me. He put a lot of thought into it and you could really tell that he wanted it to be perfect. It was a really nice as far as first dates go."

"What about living together?" Regina read another question off of her list.

"It was weird. We know each other so well, but it's different when you are in the same space. It took some time, but we figured it out. By the end of the week we had a pretty solid routine and knew how to work with each other and around each other."

Regina looked up from her clipboard. "Thank you Emma." She gave what looked like a grateful smile. "Killian!" She called out.

Emma walked off the the set as Killian walked on and he whispered to her. "Good job, love."

"Thanks." She said softly with a smile. "Break a leg out there, sailor."

The camera crew went through the same routine with Killian that they had with her-making sure he was standing in the right spot, fixing some lighting and a few last minute appearance things before they let him start, first asking one of the questions she had started out with, what did he think of the overall experience and what had he learned.

"I was nervous about doing this, if I am honest." Killian started. "But if I had to do this with anyone, I am happy it was with Emma. We truly are a good team and we proved that once again this week. Being in a marriage is hard, but we worked through it together. You really have to work with and listen to your partner. You can't be selfish. I saw early on that it was not all about me- I had to think about Emma and what she wanted."

"What do you think the hardest thing was?" Regina asked Killian some new questions.

He chuckled and glanced at Emma before answering. "We are definitely both stubborn to a fault. Sometimes our stubbornness gets in the way of our happiness. We both had to learn how to work with each other in a new way and put what we wanted aside."

"And Emma's date?"

"I loved it. She knew exactly what I would love, but that is because she knows me so well. She picked something that I would love and went all out with it. I've never had a lass who went sailing with me without complaining, let alone one that would plan the entire day. The fact that she knew everything that would make me happy was also great. It's nice to have someone that knows you like you know yourself."

Regina nodded and turned to Emma. "You want to go join him?"

Emma went and took her spot beside Killian. He gave her a warm smile before Regina demanded their attention again. "What do you think you can take away from this week?"

"Trusting in relationships." Emma blurted out, surprising both herself and Killian. "I really saw that a relationship could be a nice thing that doesn't have to terrify me. And if both people want it bad enough and work on it, it can really work."

Killian tried to hide the smile on his face as he turned to the camera for his answer. "Going along with what Emma said, I think we all deserve a little happiness. We just have to overcome our own fears and stubbornness."

"Okay, you two." Regina instructed them. "Turn to each remember what you are supposed to say for the end?"

The both nodded and did as they were instructed, joining their hands.

"I don't"

"I don't"

They turned to the camera and said enthusiastic voices, "We're divorced!"

"And that's a wrap." Regina yelled. "Thank you both for your involvement. We will notify you when the video is live."

The duo smiled and Killian, who still was holding Emma's hand, pulled her behind the camera towards where they left their belongings. "We did it, Swan."

"Now what?"

"Well, now we go and have a real relationship."

* * *

 _Day 1052_

Emma had not been in front of a camera in years, but the office insisted that she and Killian do this video. It was the only the second video they had done together, the first being their "BFFs get married for a week" which they made over two years ago.

Killian sat next to her in front of the camera, as make-up artists touched them up before they could shoot their video.

"You nervous, Swan?" He whispered to her.

She shook her head. "We're old pros."

Regina and David made their way onto the set, Regina stating that it was time to begin. She looked to Emma and Killian, "You know what you want to say, right?"

"All ready, milady." Killian told her.

"Good." Regina was unphased by Killian's charm. She motioned to David and yelled, "And three, two one, Action!"

"I'm Killian-"

"And I'm Emma-"

"And two years ago, we got married for a week."

Emma held up her hand to the camera. "This time we are getting married for real."

Killian laughed. "Well, not on camera. But we thought since you all loved our video two years ago, you might like to know what's happened to us since."

"Killian and I actually started dating while we were filming the original video."

"On day three." Killian added.

"We kept it off the camera because we were pretty unsure of the relationship. We did not want to ruin things just because we rushed into everything."

"I had liked her since I met her," Killian explained. "But she took a little bit longer to come around. But neither of us had the best track record with relationships and we wanted to take things slow and do things right."

"We moved forward with a real relationship after we ended the video and then told our friends a little over a week before the video came out."

"We originally planned on waiting until after the video came out, but we were bloody awful at keeping things a secret."Killian laughed. "But we dated for two years and things were not always smooth sailing. We had our fair share of ups and downs, but we got through them, together. We enjoyed getting to be in a real relationship with each other and do the whole dating thing. We went sailing a lot more and had a few more of those fancy dates you all saw in the other video. And two months ago, I asked this beauty to be my wife."

"And I said yes."

"This time our marriage won't last a week." Killian stated with confidence. "And we most definitely won't be ending it with a divorce." He looked at her.

"Cut!" Regina yelled. "Good! I think we do one or two more takes and we should be good. Everyone take five."

Emma and Killian stayed in their seats. Killian was still staring at her, as everyone else ran about. He waited a few seconds before whispering. "I'll never leave you, my love. I'm in this for the long-haul."

She leaned in and gave him a quick kiss. "I know. I can't wait to marry you. For real this time."

"Neither can I, love. Neither can I."

* * *

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